Robert C. Cordaro arrived at the courthouse just after 9:30 a.m., telling a group of reporters assembled at the front door “I’m the only one to blame for being here today.”

The former county commissioner was surrounded by family as he walked into the courthouse. He lingered in the lobby for a minute or two, hugging a friend before continuing to the fourth floor and Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo’s courtroom.

Both he and former county commissioner A.J. Munchak are scheduled to be sentenced at 10 a.m.

Former county commissioner A.J. Munchak arrived at the federal courthouse at 9:22 a.m., carrying a briefcase and smiling at reporters who crowded him near the front door.

“No comment,” he said softly before making his way up the steps and down the hall, limping slightly.

Mr. Munchak is scheduled to be sentenced today at 10 a.m. in front of Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo. Joining him will be former commissioner Robert C. Cordaro, who has not yet arrived at the courthouse.

Mr. Munchak’s arrival put to rest questions about whether he would be sentenced today as scheduled. Mr. Munchak was hospitalized on Friday after complaining of dizziness and shortness of breath. Neither he nor his attorney, Chris Powell, gave specifics on his ailments, though Mr. Powell said the problem is life-threatening.

More details about Mr. Munchak’s health is expected at today’s sentencing hearing.

Good morning! The Times-Tribune already has a team of reporters stationed outside of the courthouse, waiting on the arrival of former county commissioners Robert C. Cordaro and A.J. Munchak for a sentencing hearing in front of Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo.

We will be live blogging and updating The Times-Tribune web site all morning to bring you the latest news from the federal courthouse. So far, neither defendant has arrived.

At a federal trial in June, Mr. Cordaro was found guilty of 18 of the 33 counts against him, including extortion, racketeering and money laundering. Mr. Munchak was convicted on eight of 21 charges at the same trial. Both say they’re innocent.
At the trial, jurors heard from a number of witnesses who testified about paying tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak in exchange for lucrative country contracts. Additionally, prosecutors have said both men were implicated in a scheme involving about $1 million in fraud connected to a federal project to build a bus and rail terminal on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton.

The charges against Mr. Cordaro carry a maximum sentence of 229 years imprisonment and $4.5 million in fines. Mr. Munchak faces up to 93 years in prison and $2 million in fines. But Senior U.S. Judge A. Richard Caputo does not have to follow sentencing guidelines in the cases, so how much time he will give Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak is anyone’s guess.

Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Mr. Munchak and a 20-year sentence against Mr. Cordaro. Mr. Munchak’s attorneys are asking for a sentence of no more than three years. Mr. Cordaro’s attorney, Peter Goldberger, is asking for a sentence of no more than four years.

Sitting county commissioner A.J. Munchak’s defense attorney, Chris Powell, told reporters that jurors had another question just after 3 p.m. The question was handled in Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo’s chambers, so there is no information available as to its subject.

It is the second question jurors have asked since beginning deliberations about 10 a.m. today. That question was also addressed in chambers and lawyers involved in the case declined to comment on that question as well.

Jurors are continuing to deliberate this afternoon after asking a brief question, the subject of which people involved in the corruption case against former commissioner Robert C. Cordaro and sitting commissioner A.J. Munchak have declined to comment.

The question was apparently answered in Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo’s chambers at about 12:30 p.m. Defense lawyers for Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak declined to talk about what question jurors asked. Prosecutors also declined comment. The judge was not available for comment.

It also appears that the jury has ordered lunch. Two deliverymen bearing boxes of food from Pizza by Pappas arrived on the fourth floor at about 1:15 p.m. and were guided back to a door leading to judges’ chambers and other offices that line the hallways around the courtrooms.

Courtroom 1 was sparsely populated today as Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo gave the jurors some final instructions and then sent them off to deliberations.

The jury was in the courtroom only about 15 minutes this morning before the three alternates were dismissed and the jury led back to their deliberation room. About five people, not counting media, were in the courtroom to watch this morning.

After the jury left the courtroom, Judge Caputo asked if prosecutors and defense attorneys had left cell phone numbers to be contacted if the jury comes back with questions or a verdict. Prosecutors left the courtroom and headed to their office one floor down. A.J. Munchak and his attorney, Chris Powell, also left the courthouse after jury deliberations began.

Prior to jurors and the judge entering the courtroom this morning, Mr. Munchak and former county commissioner Robert C. Cordaro were seen chatting quietly — Mr. Cordaro sitting on a courtroom bench and Mr. Munchak in his chair at the defense table. It was not clear what they were talking about.

Jurors should begin deliberating sometime today in the corruption case involving former county commissioner Robert C. Cordaro and sitting commissioner A.J. Munchak.

Mr. Munchak walked into the federal courthouse just a few minutes ago. Mr. Cordaro is expected any time now.

Jury instruction began yesterday at 3:30 p.m. and lasted until about 6:30 p.m., when everyone was dismissed for the day. Some more jury instruction is expected this morning before jurors begin deliberations.

There is a concept that jurors can embrace while deliberating about a case — if a witness is caught in a lie, jurors can decide to disregard or discredit the person’s entire testimony.

In the corruption case against former county commissioner Robert C. Cordaro and A.J. Munchak, the concept was brought up first by defense attorney William Costopoulos. It was repeated by defense attorney Chris Powell as he talked about prosecution’s key witness, Highland Associates principal Don Kalina, who had testified that he delivered a total of $60,000 to Mr. Munchak and $30,000 to Mr. Cordaro as kickbacks for lucrative county contracts.

Mr. Powell told jurors “Don Kalina should not be believed. Don Kalina admitted he’s a liar” because he hid extramarital affairs from his family. Mr. Powell also said Mr. Kalina lied to FBI agents who approached him in 2007 about paying kickbacks for county contracts.

And finally, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Brandler mentioned the ‘false in one, false in all’ concept when he talked about Mr. Cordaro’s testimony. Mr. Brandler addressed portion of defense attorneys’ closing arguments, calling them “silly, not supported by the facts and outrageous.”

He ended his closing argument by listing all the lies he said Mr. Cordaro told on the stand, telling jurors that they can use the concept first suggested by Mr. Costopoulos on the former commissioner’s testimony, too.

“He gave you a completely bogus explanation” of checks he accepted from West Scranton funeral director Al Hughes and either deposited or cashed, Mr. Brandler said. “False in one, false in all.”

The trial will return to the courtroom at 3:30 p.m. for jury instructions. It is unclear whether they will begin deliberations today.

In his 70-minute closing argument to jurors today, defense attorney William Costopoulos called one of the prosecution’s key witness a “degenerate gambler and scam artists” who could not provide any specifics about the meetings he said he had with then-commissioner Robert C. Cordaro to hand him kickbacks from a civil engineering firm.

Much of Mr. Costopoulos’ closing argument centered on testimony of West Scranton funeral director Al Hughes, who testified that he delivered about $360,000 in kickbacks to Mr. Cordaro over a three-year period. Mr. Hughes said he delivered the money from P.J. McLaine, a principal at the now-defunct Acker Associates. And both Mr. Hughes and Mr. McLaine testified that the money was in exchange for lucrative county contracts.

But Mr. Costopoulos said Mr. Hughes offered “uncorroborated testimony” on the stand and accused government investigators of not looking into Mr. Hughes and his claims more carefully. During his closing testimony, he echoed Mr. Cordaro’s comments on the stand late last week, saying that the government gave immunity too freely.

“These guys are stealing from each other and the government, ladies and gentlemen, have given away the farm,” he said. “All to get Bob Cordaro.”

Sitting commissioner A.J. Munchak’s lawyer, Chris Powell, told jurors to use their common sense when deliberating on the testimony they have heard for nearly two weeks.

At about 9:40 a.m., Assistant U.S. Attorney Lorna Graham got up and began summarizing 10 days worth of testimony.

More than 120 people packed Courtroom 1 and 2 this morning to listen to closing arguments. Ms. Graham began by reminding jurors about the testimony they heard about the delivery of $30,000 in cash stuffed in an envelope and delivered as a kickback.

She asked, rhetorically of course, whether many people had ever seen that much cash all at once and paused for a minute before continuing.

“In their world,” she said, pointing at the defense tables, “it happens all the time.”

It is the first of three closing arguments jurors will hear this morning. Ms. Graham will be followed by Robert C. Cordaro’s attorney, William Costopoulous, and then A.J. Munchak’s attorney, Chris Powell. Afterwards, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Brandler will have a few minutes to respond to defense attorneys’ closing arguments.